Sunday, September 20, 2009

Stanford/Bay Area/College and Swine Flu??

Disclaimer : So apparently I saved a bunch of my blog posts as drafts and never published them because I guess I got distracted by something else?...and they really aren't relevant now [or were covered by some of you all...so excuse the mass posts by me that are to come in the next few hours :(]

Anyways, so it's not just Vaden that is preparing for the impending doom that Swine Flu will bring about on college campuses. One of the major reasons why germs are so easily spread around campuses across the country is because college students are always in situations of close contact or close proximity. The parties, drinking, and beer pong doesn't necessarily help prevent the spread of germs and bacteria. Currently, San Jose State University is planning on handing out disposable thermometers to fraternities and sororities, and has also made provisions that in the case that swine flu does break out, there will be a house designated specifically for people who are sick.

According to Mercury News, "More than 80 percent of the nation's colleges and universities tracking swine flu cases have reported infected students, up from 73 percent of all schools the previous week, according to the American College Health Association. Most cases are mild, running their course in one week. But it has claimed the lives of two college students so far, one at Cornell University in New York and another at Troy University in Alabama." These are scary statistics! Will our campus be next? What will Stanford do if so many people on campus get swine flu that some form of housing needs to be designated for them?

Berkeley (no matter how great the rivalry between us is) has unfortunately felt the pangs of swine flu infections and reported between 40-50 cases that appeared to be like influenza weekly. Unfortunately for us, swine flu aims more at young adults and children rather than older generations...And all of this constant close contact (in-between classes, shared bathrooms, dining halls, dorm rooms, etc.) is probably swine flu's best friend when it comes to making more people sick.

Hopefully swine flu doesn't hit Stanford as hard as it has hit some other schools. It would be great if there never turned out to be a single case of swine flu, but seeing the statistics and how many other universities have come down with cases, it is highly unlikely that the "angel of swine flu" will pass over our home sweet Stanford.